Where my fellow cooks at???

[mac5155]

so stock is from bones and innards but broth is just from meat?

[Chefpatrick871]

so stock is from bones and innards but broth is just from meat?

It was the most common answer found, both on the web and in my book. Plus cooking lengths and consistency of the liquid when finished. A proper stock should turn to a jello like consistency when cooled, broth should always be liquid.

[tifosi77]

The commonality of all the chefs I've worked for is; you can go cheap on almost all wines, just not marsala.

Inexpensive and undrinkable are not necessarily the same thing. That crap 'cooking wine' stuff is just plain awful. But you can have a glass of Two Buck Chuck and not be offended.

Generally, my threshold for wines used in cooking is $8 for a regular 750 ml bottle.

It is kind of fun to go all out and make your own stock, to save money just start throwing all your veg scraps in a freezer bag, onion paper, ends of carrots and celery, tomato tops. And beef bones are insanely cheap.

Stock and broth making are so insanely easy, I can't understand how companies have found a market for pre-made stuff. Seriously, just put everything in a pot, cover with water, boil, simmer, skim. Stuff freezes for months on end.

The biggest problem I have is that when I make stock I make it in pretty big quantities (like 3-4 gallons worth). We don't have a big fridge/freezer yet, so storing the stuff is a challenge.

Another good piece of advice is to save all the plastic containers and lids you get when you order take out. The round ones that Thai curries come in are particularly useful in my house, as that's where stocks live. Put 4 cups worth in the takeout thing, freeze the rest.

A proper stock should turn to a jello like consistency when cooled, broth should always be liquid.

This is the most important distinction, imo.

I love making infused broths, ginger-cardamom, dashi, etc.

[BadHands71]

we should have an LGP picnic catered by our cooks.

[Chefpatrick871]

The commonality of all the chefs I've worked for is; you can go cheap on almost all wines, just not marsala.

Inexpensive and undrinkable are not necessarily the same thing. That crap 'cooking wine' stuff is just plain awful. But you can have a glass of Two Buck Chuck and not be offended.

Generally, my threshold for wines used in cooking is $8 for a regular 750 ml bottle.

.

You'd be amazed at how many fine dining places use box and jug Cablis and Cabs. There's a 5 gallon box of Paul Maison Chablis that the last 2 fine dining places I've worked both used.

Granted we aren't talking New York/LA/Vegas fine dining, but still dishes that are going for over 20$

[shmenguin]

anyone have any good indian recipes?

i've got my tikka masala down pat, but would like to do a roganjosh dish or something

[Letang Is The Truth]

i made pesto pasta last night with sauteed veggies and tomato/watermelon/basil skewers topped with balsamic reduction. it was pretty good considering im a turrble cook

[tifosi77]

There's a great little tapa (little plate) of watermelon and tomato created by Ferran Adrià, widely considered to be one of the greatest chefs of the last hundred years or so. Shows that the most creative food isn't always the most complicated.

De-seed and cut watermelon into a 2" cubes. Cut the tomato in half and cut a 'door' into the flesh so you can remove the pulp/seeds in one whole piece, almost like a fillet. Place one tomato gelatin fillet over one watermelon cube and hold in place with a skewer, repeat until you run out of tomato and/or watermelon or have enough skewers for your guests. Make a quick vinaigrette with sherry vinegar, lemon juice, a little lemon zest and best quality extra virgin (salt to taste) and drizzle over the skewers. (you want about 3:1 ratio of acid to fat) Garnish with some fresh lemon zest and little edible flower petals. Serve immediately.

Class.

[Chefpatrick871]

Supped Up Shells n Cheese

Box of Velveeta Shells n Cheese
4-5 slices of a decent smoked bacon
1/8 t. ground thyme
1/4 c minced onion
10 grinds cracked pepper
1 clove garlic

While you make the mac and cheese per directions, pan fry off the bacon to your desired doneness, about 30-45 seconds before you're ready to take the bacon out, add the rest of the ingredients, and saute for up to 45 seconds. Transfer all into a food processor, grind to small bits, pour back into pan, add cheese packet, mix together, add mac when done, enjoy.

[Azkar]

Supped Up Shells n Cheese

Box of Velveeta Shells n Cheese
4-5 slices of a decent smoked bacon
1/8 t. ground thyme
1/4 c minced onion
10 grinds cracked pepper
1 clove garlic

While you make the mac and cheese per directions, pan fry off the bacon to your desired doneness, about 30-45 seconds before you're ready to take the bacon out, add the rest of the ingredients, and saute for up to 45 seconds. Transfer all into a food processor, grind to small bits, pour back into pan, add cheese packet, mix together, add mac when done, enjoy.

You had me at bacon

[mac5155]

Mac FTW

[columbia]

anyone have any good indian recipes?

i've got my tikka masala down pat, but would like to do a roganjosh dish or something

This looks reasonably authentic:
http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Rogan-Josh-211487

The frustrating thing about good Indian cooking is access to fresh spices and grinding them yourself.
Not always easy to pull off.

[Chefpatrick871]

anyone have any good indian recipes?

i've got my tikka masala down pat, but would like to do a roganjosh dish or something

This looks reasonably authentic:
http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Rogan-Josh-211487

The frustrating thing about good Indian cooking is access to fresh spices and grinding them yourself.
Not always easy to pull off.

Indeed. I'm big into doing asian stuff, and I've got it all really close, but its always missing like thing.

[the wicked child]

Bump for Holiday edition. Just made my annual batch of peppermint bark.

1 pound (16 ounces) chopped bittersweet chocolate
½ teaspoon (or more to taste) peppermint extract
1 pound (16 ounces) chopped white chocolate
¾ cup chopped candy canes

directions:

1. Line an 11 x 17-inch baking sheet with foil and set aside.

2. Melt bittersweet chocolate in the top of a double boiler over lightly boiling water, stirring constantly.
Stir in ¼ teaspoon of peppermint extract (or more to taste).

3. Spread chocolate evenly onto the prepared sheet, using an off-set spatula. Chill until set, about 1 hour.

4. Melt white chocolate in the top of a double boiler over lightly boiling water, stirring constantly.
Stir in remaining ¼ teaspoon of peppermint extract, (or more to taste) then add candy canes and stir to combine.

5. Spread white chocolate mixture over chilled dark chocolate, spreading to the edge of the pan with
an off-set spatula.

6. Chill until set, about four hours or overnight. Refrigerate until just before serving,
then break into pieces and serve.

Spoiler:

My favorite part about this recipe is that the pieces of candy cane create a crunch-bar texture in the white chocolate that takes it to the next level.

[count2infinity]

I started a sourdough sponge about a week before thankgiving and made some for then and will be making some for christmas as well because it was DELICIOUS! i'll post instructions when i have the time, but here's a picture of the finished product.

[tifosi77]

So with the holiday season comes the annual onslaught of cookbooks as gifts. This year I got the only three cookbooks on my list: Essential Thomas Keller (The French Laundry cookbook and Ad Hoc At Home cookbook) and the Fat Duck Cookbook by Heston Blumenthal.

The French Laundry cookbook is beautiful; Keller wouldn't do a cookbook until his publisher agreed to make part of it about his purveyors. So there's these little asides all through the book about the Maine lobster lady, or the wild mushroom forager. Fun stuff. Ad Hoc might become one of the most useful cookbooks in my collection. Ad Hoc is what happens when a three-Michelin star chef decides he wants to open a family-style restaurant and serve stews and hamburgers. The cookbook is utterly fantastic.

To be honest, the Fat Duck Cookbook is pretty intimidating stuff. The first recipe does not appear until page 136. The volume is broken into thirds: the history of Chef Blumenthal and the Fat Duck restaurant, the collection of recipes from the restaurant, and a section on food and cooking science that's so dense they had to shrink the font size to fit it all in! Blumenthal is one of my favorites, but.... wow. This book is intense!!

[neophool]

anyone have any reccomendations for good websites or books with good, reasonable recipees for a natural/whole foods diet? this can include meats - just they would have to be game meat (deer, etc) or free range beef / chicken etc.

[tifosi77]

I'm not sure how a natural/whole foods diet differs from a regular diet aside from where you source your ingredients. A cookbook isn't necessarily going to help you there; that's up to you to accommodate when you do your shopping. It's not like a roast chicken recipe will differ if you use a chicken from a factory farm versus one that you get from sustainable, free-range and cage-free farm.

Unless I'm misunderstanding what you mean by 'natural/whole foods'.

[neophool]

I'm not sure how a natural/whole foods diet differs from a regular diet aside from where you source your ingredients. A cookbook isn't necessarily going to help you there; that's up to you to accommodate when you do your shopping. It's not like a roast chicken recipe will differ if you use a chicken from a factory farm versus one that you get from sustainable, free-range and cage-free farm.

Unless I'm misunderstanding what you mean by 'natural/whole foods'.

well a natural/whoe foods diet wouldn't use things like pasta, white rice, bread, dairy, etc. Lots of beans, veggies, etc.

[count2infinity]

so you're looking for low carb? because to me natural/whole foods is just where they come from rather than what they are. but to answer your question, meat, beans, and veggies??? sounds like you can find some great soups.

[count2infinity]

so tonight:

Lasagna: has italian sausage, my own homemade pasta sauce, ricotta cheese mixture and my own homemade pasta as follows:
-homemade red bell pepper pasta (this stuff looks and smells delicious)
--2 fire roasted red bell peppers pureed
--1 egg
--2 tbsps of olive oil
--2.5-3 cups of flour (depending upon how much moisture is present from the pepper puree)

to accompany that i have sour dough bread rising, recipe for that is here:
http://www.bhg.com/recipe/yeast-breads/sourdough-bread/

[columbia]

That sounds excellent.

Do you used roasted garlic at all?
I usually mix some of that, a touch of olive oil, a bit of pasta sauce and some herbs into the ricotta.

[count2infinity]

there is garlic in the sauce already. it was made over the summer from our fresh from the garden tomatoes and veggies. but i also add garlic to the sausage when i brown it up.

[mac5155]

Care to post your sauce recipe? :pop: sounds good. I love homemade sauce

[count2infinity]

well we grind our own tomatoes and take the juice and put it a big canning pot, boil it down until it's about 3/4 maybe a little less than the original volume, for each canning pot (not sure the exact name of those things) take 2 roughly chopped large (huge) sweet onions, 2 smaller strong onions, 3 roughly chopped green peppers (take the seeds out), 4 chopped banana peppers (take the seeds out), add dried oregano, basel, and marjoram usually about 2 tbsp of each (I always add more later when cooking with the sauce), a full head of large galric. since my family doesn't like chunks in their sauce we take all those solid parts, put some in a blender, add the hot tomato juice and blend, then add to the sauce. from there add salt about 1/4 cup. let boil for a little bit longer and then we lower the temp to a simmer add tomato paste until you can take a wooden spoon, stand it straight up in the sauce and it doesn't fall over. then place in quart size mason jars and can them to use whenever needed. all the ingredients except for the salt and tomato paste come from our garden. we use the sauce for pizza and pasta both.